Hilde Lysiak, the third-grader who broke a murder story in her Pennsylvania town earlier this year, is taking a stab at fiction.
Scholastic will publish a four-book series called Hilde Cracks the Case by Lysiak and her father, Matthew Lysiak, also a journalist. The children’s publishing giant announced the series yesterday (June 30).
“I want kids who read these books to love reporting like I do,” the nine-year-old said in a statement.
Lysiak gained attention in April with her reports of a murder crime scene for Orange Street News, a site and monthly paper that covers happenings in her hometown of Selinsgrove. Lysiak is the editor of the paper, though she is taking the week off for swim camp.
Facebook commenters have criticized the young writer, saying, among other things, she should be playing with dolls instead of reporting. Lysiak responded to her haters on YouTube, reading their comments with unimpressed nonchalance.
The book series will be aimed at six to eight-year-olds and launch in fall 2017.
Image by lindsayΔlachance on Flickr, licensed under CC BY 2.0.